Session 17
Herbert screamed at the top of his lungs, altering the dwarves, Erik, Seigbert and even those on the boat. The ghoul dropped Erik and fled the scene. While everyone gathered what they could Seigward and Ava made their way to the signal tower, the figure in the treeline having vanished. As they approached the tower Seigward spotted the ghoul dropping behind a rocky outcrop into a small cave. In the tower Seigbert discovered a hidden tunnel at the ground floor that the dwarves had covered with a rug. It had an unusual key size. Erik, Aynjulls, two dwarves and Seigward set down a ladder to reach the cave. Inside they found the horrific remains of various dwarf builders and the ghoul that attempted to abduct Erik. Together they made short work of the wretched creature and found a key around its neck. As Aynjulls and the rest of the dwarves said some words about their friends and began proper burial, Erik and Seigward returned to the tower with the key. It was a perfect fit for the room Seigbert discovered. Inside they found 3 more doors, two wooden, on the left and right. The door directly ahead had 8 key holes, all octagonal in shape. As the party explored the door to the left they discovered a octagonal shaped hallway that ran the whole way around to the door on the right. Inside were stacks of old tomes, dried up vials and 7 ferocious zombies! Once the group got over their initial fear they easily dispatched 6 of the 7 undead, the last one putting up a serious fight(it scored three critical hits on three different players. As each zombie died the one that destroyed it heard a whisper of thanks on the wind. After searching the place Ava came away with some books on Astronomy and two letters that made mention to a rock falling from morrsleib some two hundred years ago. Once the party told Aynjulls this he sets about covering the trap door with stone bricks until the project is done. Once the tower was finished Aynjulls gives Seigbert a small stone token with a rune on it, marking the party as friends of the Dawi. He tells them he'll wait here before imperial forces arrive and take over the tower where he'll move onto other construction projects. The group sail down river to the town of Worlitz. There Seigbert sought to acquire more bounties but found none that he could work on. At night, while the barge was docked, Seigward spotted someone watching from the roof tops. He shone a light on them and they vanished. After a few minutes the same figure began to slowly walk toward the barge. Seigward hailed and the figure lowered her hood to reveal Ursula Kopfgeld, bounty hunter. She a pistol on Seigward and instructed him to follow her since he was wanted as the burner of Bogenhaffen. Seigward tried to converse with her and Gretchins barking awoke the others. Seigbert snuck on deck with a crossbow and shot at Ursula, hitting her in the arm. She in turn shot her pistol, grazing Seigward. As he recovered and Seigbert attempted to reload the device she made good her escape. The group took off at night and settled on the opposite side of the river some forty minutes outside of town. The next day they continued onto Diesdorf where they sold some grain for gold and rations to the local mill owner Diemut Sack. Once again, electing to stay on the opposite side of the river. Continuing south they arrive at Kemperbad. Here they paid a hefty fee to the dock master and caught a glimpse of a noble being escorted up to the town. Paying another fee, Seigbert, Herbert and Erik went up with the groups timbre while the rest stayed on the barge. Once up top Seibert tipped the workers a silver each and set about trying to sell his wares. He traded a large amount of timber to a brandy sales man, Gundolf Schöler, and the rest to a carpenter, Horst Mommsen. Heading to the nearest inn, "The Halflings Delight" Seigbert spotted Herbert and Erik enjoying a beverage. Buying one himself he quized the bar keep about his bounty, playing it off like they were friends. The barkeep described one of the dock hands that Seigbert had tipped and a plan was hatched. The trio finished their drinks and went to return to the River Volf. Once they dock hands had loaded up the brandy Seigbert confronted the man named Otto about owing money to the engineering guild. He denied it immediately, claiming his name was Klempner, not Boehm. He said he was traveling to see his cousin in Nuln before Siegbert put manacles on him. With Eriks help the chained Otto below deck. Seigward intimidated the other dock hands to leave, however they just fetched the dock master. The dock master admired he didn't know enough about Otto to tell if he was the bounty Seigbert wanted but it was bad for business all the same. The River Volf was banned from Kemperbad from now on! Having been banned from Kemperbad the group had a long discussion about Otto, eventually deciding he was probably Otto Boehm giving a fake name, but they couldn't be 100% sure. After spending two more nights on the river south the group came across another trading vessel that warned them to stay away from Wittgenstein. It is a foul place with evil about it. The trader confessed that the guards tried to seize their barge. Ava attempted to feel the winds of magic and noticed it was particularly strong in the area. After consulting her astronomy she realised it was Geheimnistag, the Day of Mystery. Sure enough, that night Morrslieb was out in full. The next day the group pass a band of flagellants who proclaimed that doom was near. Karl Franz was forgiving mutants, Sigmar worshipers were prosecuted in Middenheim and Bogenhafen burned to the ground! The group continued on and Morrslieb was out in full again the next night. Seigward noticed a group of individuals traveling along the treeline past the barge but he couldn't make them out. The group continued the next day and arrived in Grissenwald.